USC president steps down after campus gynecologist scandal

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USC President C.L. Max Nikias attends the naming of the Julie Chen/Leslie Moonves and CBS Media Center at The Wallis Annenberg Hall At The University Of Southern California on February 25, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

USC president steps down after campus gynecologist scandal

USC President C.L. Max Nikias attends the naming of the Julie Chen/Leslie Moonves and CBS Media Center at The Wallis Annenberg Hall At The University Of Southern California on February 25, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES — University of Southern California President C. L. Max Nikias stepped down from his role effective Tuesday, according to a statement released by the school.

Board member Wanda Austin has been named interim president while the search for a permanent replacement continues.

Austin served as president and CEO of the Aerospace Coroporation from 2008 to 2016. Described as an advocate for STEM, minorities and women, she received a Ph.D. in industrial and systems engineering from USC in 1988, according to the university statement.

Austin previously was appointed by Barack Obama to serve on the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology, and in 2016, she received the Goddard Astronautics Award.

Rich Caruso, the chairman of the university’s Board of Trustees, outlined its plans for the search for the next USC president.

More than two months ago, Nikias had agreed to step down following a scandal involving Dr. George Tyndall, a former campus gynecologist accused of sexual misconduct and using racist language while examining patients.

That announcement came after thousands of students and alumni signed an online petition demanding his resignation, alleging that USC failed to act after complaints of misconduct involving Tyndall, who worked at a university clinic for decades.

In response to Tuesday’s news, several lawyers representing women in lawsuits blasted the university’s decision to name Nikias the president emeritus and life trustee.

Attorney Gloria Allred, who is representing 36 women who accuse Tyndall of misconduct, called the move “a slap in the face to the hundreds of female students who have alleged abuse at the hands of Dr. Tyndall.”

John Manly, who represents 150 women who say they are victims of Tyndall, described the appointment for Nikias as “crazy.”